February 09, 2007

Flour, Yeast, Water and Salt are the components of most of my favorite breads. I mean no disrespect to those calamata olive breads, sun-dried tomato focaccias, and parmesan baguettes-they just ain't my favorite thing. I'm happier without any eggs, oil, or milk in my loaf, too, most of the time. But after fooling around with the Sullivan Street/NY Times 18 hour no-knead loaf (see link to the right, if you somehow missed the furor) every week for months, I decided to take the radical step of adding three extra ingredients.

Of course, I'm cheating...one of the extra ingredients (spelt) is actually flour, another is just a (special) salt, and the third-malted wheat flakes-is, after all, wheat. But for me- wildly deviant. I guess the reason for the deviation boils down to my two minor areas of dissatisfaction with this bread as my main, all purpose, staff of life-type loaf. The first is that the crumb is, much of the time, a little too moist to be perfect. The second is that it is a tad too white-I like a touch of something darker and grittier-just a bit of country, in my everyday stuff. I'm not looking for a brown loaf here, just an off-white.

The flor de sal (not a typo-it's Portuguese) is just my very favorite sea salt of them all. I believe I read about it first in some Slow Food publication, and I adore it. "From the Barque Naturale da Ria Formosa in the Algarve, and hand harvested...." blah, blah- whatever, it could come from Disneyland ...it is just shockeningly delicious. A sprinkling of this stuff transforms, say, a fried egg. I'm not fooling.

The spelt is courtesy of June, who made such a startlingly high, even textured sandwich loaf from all spelt (I'm going to be trying one of those soon, too) , and Lynn D.*, who put some in her 18 hour loaf, and liked the results. They both said the flavor is "nutty", which sounds good to me. In fact, I'm thinking some toasted walnuts in the mix might make the 18 hour thing into a good special occasion, have-some-with-the-soup-and -cheese bread.

The malted wheat flakes also have a June connection, as she helped me out in my effort to find out something about Granary Bread, made with a proprietary brand flour, available in the UK, but not, or not widely, in the US.

It occurs to me that I have been talking about varying a recipe I've never actually provided, so, at the risk of boring you silly, here it is in the original, as I do it:

Mix it all together in a big bowl. Cover and let it sit in a 65F room for 18 hours. Turn into a WELL floured reed banneton, or a bowl or basket lined with a floured linen cloth. [You can shape it if you like, as you do this, noodging it into roundness, or, if you feel you know what I mean, stretching the top of the dough over the rest, without deflating it too much. This step is not essential, but adds to appearance a little.] Preheat oven to 500F with a 5 qt cast iron dutch oven inside. Baking pan must have a cover, but you don't have to preheat that. Let dough rise until doubled- about 2 hours.

Cut a circle of parchment slightly larger than the banneton, and place it over the top of the basket, covering dough. Over that, put a larger round tray or plate. Invert, gently nudging the dough out onto the parchment circle if it doesn't fall out itself. Now, open the oven, pick up the shaped loaf by the parchment beneath, and drop it into the preheated dutch oven. Put lid on the pan, and close the oven door. (You don't have to take out the parchment-just leave it there- it will be fine.)

Bake about 30 minutes, remove lid from dutch oven, and continue to bake 20-30 minutes more, until done..it will sound hollow if you tap the bottom. Make sure the exterior is a nice, dark brown. Listen to the popping sounds the crust makes as you cool it down on a rack. These are the delightful sounds of a crust which is thin, crispy, and toothsome- as good as any bakery crust I've ever had. To my mind, this is the most surprising aspect of this recipe. I've never had a home crust this good before.

Variant: Substitute one cup of spelt for one cup of the flour, and add a handful of malted wheat flakes. Use favorite fancy sea salt.

So, as you can see, it is still with the big holes and chewiness (a plus with me). I really like the taste- wheatier, and the malted wheat flakes are yummy. It is still plain-bready, which is what I'm looking for here, a kind of go-with-everything housebread, tasty, but not tasting noticeably of anything, except bread. It's a little damper than I'd like, despite being nice and dark brown. I think maybe I'll be trying to take the lid off a little earlier...I just don't want to ruin the perfect thin crust, though. Oh yes, I think I will add more of that lovely salt- because I just can't get enough.

I do love to play with my food.

*Lynn, who really should think about a blog, or website, or something to link people to. I get so many ideas from her, and I'm a fan of her writing , too. But she knows that.

Note: For some reason I can't get a permanent link for the malted wheat flakes, which I got at the Baker's Catalogue from King Arthur flour. It keeps saying that my shopping session has expired. I know that, I'm not shopping. Aaargh. But they do have it, you will just have to find it at the site yourself, I'm afraid, if you want some. I tried to help.

January 14, 2007

It won't melt the stock pot. Nor is it Consomme Marijuana, the recipe for which can be found, if this more prosaic soup disappoints, in Jeremiah Tower's California Dish. I refer instead, to the ethnic jumble which is my cooking inheritance and probably yours too, to some extent, since you have internet access, and are unlikely to live in an isolated culinary community. I guess it is a kind of yunzer* fusion cooking, being essentially an Italian Wedding Soup, crossed with Matzoh Ball Soup.

I make this pretty regularly, usually in quantities of A Whole Lot, because it keeps and freezes well, and is good for taking to work and heating in a microwave for lunch. It is also possible to make it seem quite fancy, by serving it in small bowls, prior to a celebratory dinner. Personally, I enjoy consuming it from a deep bowl, on my afghan covered lap, in a comfortable chair, while reading. (Though I live alone, I generally eat at a set table, even when I don't have company, and I like to do that. But the one bowl supper in a chair thing..it's a nice indulgence.)

It is pretty important to have a rich homemade stock/broth for this. I like turkey or duck stock best, but a chicken stock is fine, too. If you have some of the bird left over from the stock making, it is nice to cut up a little and add it. This is not essential, however.

Adjust the quantities according to the amount of broth you have. You need:

Bring broth to a boil. Turn down to simmer, and add everything but the greens and a few of the scallions. Cover and cook 20-25 minutes, until the farfel and matzoh balls are done. Uncover, and add the greens and remaining scallions. Cook until just wilted, sprinkle with parsley,and serve with lemon wedges to spritz over, if you like. The tasty little matzoh balls add a lot of flavor poaching in the broth, and it is important to include plenty of the nutmeg and tarragon to them for this effect. The broth will be subtle and the little dumplings, highly flavored.

I have been known to float a few rehydrated dried shitake caps in this jumble, to really melt my pot. When I do, I put them in with the matzoh balls to let them plump up further.

Tiny Turkey Matzoh Balls:
Mix about 1/4 lb of ground turkey and 1/4 cup of mazoh meal with a pinch of nutmeg, chopped tarragon, salt and plenty of pepper, a tbsp of the broth , and enough beaten egg to make a pasty consistency. Chill for half an hour in fridge or freezer. Form into tiny little marble sized balls, and set on a plate or sheet of waxed paper.

note: If you do not have the ground turkey, you can just make tiny mazoh balls instead, seasoned as above. The turkey adds a real flavor boost, though. You can make the soup even more flavorful if you cook the veg slowly in some butter, before adding them to the stock. But it is also good if you don't bother with that.

*"Yunzer" is a Pittburghese expression, meaning, essentially "of Pittsburgh, without regard for embarassing one's friends and/or relations"; antonym: yuppie; From: "yunz" 2nd pers. sing or plural:, i.e. "yunz goan dahn na Gianiggle an'at?" Trans: "Are you going down to the Giant Eagle, and that?" The "and that" , pronounced "an'at", may be added to the end of any sentence, rather like the Canadian "eh?" This is such a common usage, that you can get one of those ovoid car stickers, to indicate nationality, that reads "an@", to show the driver is from Pittsburgh. I learned about the stickers at a blog on the Pittsburgh Opera website. It was not until I first heard my own recorded speaking voice some years ago, that I realized, with mingled horror and perverse pride, that I kind of have some yunzer qualities myself.

November 10, 2006

Anyone who knows me could predict that one look at Wednesday's NYTimes Food Section would land me in the kitchen. My obsession with finding a truly acceptable loaf that I can bake at home regularly and realistically overcame my reluctance to invest my time in another "Minimalist" recipe. Lots of people swear by Mark Bittman's cookbooks and recipes. He's obviously knowledgeable and interesting, and his recipes often sound very good -but I don't have a lot of luck with them, for reasons unclear to me. This recipe comes from Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery, who invented it, and who is clearly a very clever fellow.
This is just too good an idea to pass up.I would be willing to bet that this loaf winds up on a large number of food blogs very soon, it's just such a cool concept. And if it tastes half as good as it looks-all crusty, full of various sized holes, a picture of roundness and artisan-ness, it could be my Solution. Reader/friend Lynn D. has already made it, and advises that it is outstanding. Despite her inexplicable distaste for rootbeer, I have pretty much found that if she likes something, so do I.
The concept is a bread which is not kneaded at all, and develops it's texture, gluten and flavor via a ridiculously long rise. (12-18 hrs.- with the longer time preferred.) It is baked at a high temperature in a heavy, covered, roomy pot, which is preheated, and mimics the effect of a real bakers oven. This results in a thin, crisp crackling crust of a sort not often found in home baking. I am a little worried, as I do not have a round pan of the specified type which is big enough. I'm going with an ovoid one instead, and hoping it will be okay. You can find the recipe here. If you want to keep it, print it out, as Times articles disappear into the pay-for-it archives very quickly.

Anyhow, because I'm so excited, I thought I'd post as I go along. the first photo is the dough after 8 hours of the first rise. It took about 2 minutes to mix the flour, water, salt and tiny bit of yeast in the bowl, before I went to bed. You keep it covered for 12-18 hours. As I have the day off for Veteran's Day, I'm going whole hog on the time. More to follow.

Later: Okay then, the second photo is the bread just out of the oven, the third after slicing. This bread is ridiculously great. I'm floored. The crust is truly thin and crackling, the crumb is all wheaty tasty and just slightly chewy. And it is soooosimple.

I may be making this bread every weekend-like, forever? BTW, I like the ovoid shape- better for slicing, I think...big slices from the middle for sandwiches, smaller ones from the end for bruschetta-what's not to like?

Later still: I forgot to mention, until June pointed it out (see her link below), that this bread is startlingly light. I was surprised when I picked it up, how very light it was. Yet the lightness comes with no sacrifice of toothsomeness, if you know what I mean. Nothing insipid about it-it's got chew and is full of flavor.

Breads Around the World:

This recipe has captivated quite a few cooks, and fast. The NYTimes+internet, reached a target audience awfully quickly. It helps if the target audience is composed of zealots, I guess. You can find other bakers' beautiful no kneading bread (with some pictures) at:

Did you make this bread too? Let me know and I will link to your blog or your Flickr photos.

Note: I have fallen sadly behind adding links here, what with trip to New York, visiting English cousin, Thanksgiving etc. I will eventually add everyone to this list, for your convenience, but in the meantime, you can check the comments for more links to descriptions and photos.

Additional update: 2/3/2008: I'm still making this bread- almost weekly; it suits my schedule and it is more than adequate-I like it better than my local bakery breads- not as much as the Mediterra breads, but I can't pick those up in my neighborhood, or downtown where I work. I have made a number of changes in my personal method. After reading an article in Cook's Illustrated I tried a bit of kneading before the last rise. It seems to make the bread a little less moist. Also, I do the last rise in a reed banneton which is very seasoned, and quite thickly floured.* It dumps out easily into the dutch oven I use (5 qt., rather than larger), and I slash the loaf before I set the lid on. This seems to result in a higher, rounder bread, which I like. Still the main virtues of this loaf are: easy, great crackling crust, big holed crumb and chewy. Main flaw- a little damp. The flavor can be varied with hands full of different grains as desired. It is a nice, pleasant taste, though it's not totally fascinating. C. I. added lager for flavor, but this does not appeal to me at all.

*I keep all my seasoned floured stuff- bannetons and linen cloths, etc. in a zippered plastic bag that a comforter came in. So far, this has deterred invasion by tiny livestock.

October 08, 2006

There has been a lot written about biscuits by experts and partisans of all kinds. I am neither. By biscuits, I mean traditional North American type biscuits, rather than the English sort. The latter are pretty much what we mean in the US when we say "cookies". This difference has caused some transatlantic confusion in the past, but seems generally understood these days. Our biscuits are more closely related to scones. (Though not so much to the various sweet "scones" ubiquitous in the US these days- filled with blueberries or chocolate chips, or what-all) Biscuits are little short (short as in shortening, e.g.. butterfat) breads/rolls, which have many regional and ethnic variants. I can't say I've ever met one I didn't like. Or that I'm a master of any particular type, either.

Many southern cooks sing the praises of White Lily flour for light biscuits. Some fans prefer flaky biscuits, or beaten biscuits, buttermilk, butter, or lard. The fast food chain, Popeye's, serves astonishingly good biscuits.(Their chicken and red beans and rice are pretty good too, actually, though probably they could be applied directly to your arteries, to save time). Most fast food biscuits are on the pathetic and doughy side, though. Still, presented with one, I tend to eat it. All of it. Exuberant advocates of specific recipes tend to come from, or adopt, one of the regional traditions of biscuit making.It's fun to check out their arguments.

I don't come from a classic biscuit tradition myself-the only biscuits we (occasionally) had in my childhood were drop biscuits made with Bisquick -and they weren't so bad either. Nor can I claim to be entirely opposed to the kind of biscuits that come in the exploding cardboard tubes- I've eaten them uncomplaining on many occasions, despite full knowledge of the weird chemical components listed on the packaging. I just plain love biscuits-for breakfast with sausages and gravy, made into strawberry shortcakes, topping cobblers and potpies, tiny ones with thinly sliced country ham at parties, and spread with butter -eaten with anything juicy, or salty or saucy.

I have a small collection of biscuit cutters, round and square, and even this thrifty old-fashioned device which you could roll across biscuit dough to cut perfectly aligned biscuits, leaving no scraps. My budding collection gives me something small, easy to carry and cheap to look for at flea markets and yard sales. And it doesn't take up too much space in my crowded apartment. I don't really have many yet..I'm especially fond of a jadite green plastic number that apparently came in a box of Bisquick in the thirties. Old kitchen tools are awfully nice to have around and use. They give me a pleasant, corny/sentimental feeling of connection with other cooks of other times and places.

I must also admit to possessing one of the sillier varieties of napery ever conceived of by the victorians, who so loved to invent single use food accessories, (we owe them the asparagus peeler, and the pickle fork, for example), the better to advertise their prosperity, and love of gimmick to their dinner guests.It is a biscuit server thingie- it folds down flat, and opens to hold biscuits in its little pockets, keeping them warm, and making them look like little animals, hiding in burrows. Linen of course. Did I mention that I have two? Oy. As you may have noticed, I am not necessarily entirely practical, or sane.

Anyhow, I'm not wedded to a particular biscuit recipe- I like to try different types. I'm this way about rice pudding, too. As a rule, I like to choose, and learn well, a single recipe for most of my favorite foods. It is comfortable to have a repetoire you can count on. For some reason,though, I don't feel like settling for one sort of biscuit. I'm a sucker for any slightly varied recipe I haven't yet tried. I do have an old reliable one though, which I make when I'm pressed for time. It's a James Beard recipe for cream biscuits-simple as can be, courtesy of Marion Cunningham, his friend and protege.

This is a truly fool proof recipe-perfect for a beginning cook to impress his or her friends. For some reason, serving any homemade bread product makes most people feel pampered, and it sometimes induces extreme and highly satisfactory expressions of gratitude. This works for me- on the giving and on the receiving ends of the equation.

Preheat oven to 425F. Put dry ingredients in a bowl, and fluff them together with a fork. Stirring constantly, slowly add 1 cup of the cream. Gather it all together, adding a bit more cream if it goes saggy and dry. When it holds together nicely, put it on a floured bread board, and knead it for about 60 seconds. Pat it into a square about 1/2" thick. Cut into 12 squares, and dip each in the melted butter, dipping all sides of each biscuit. Put them on an ungreased baking sheet, about 2" apart. Bake about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve hot. (This actually takes longer, in my slow oven. Know your equipment and its flaws, eh?)

These could not be easier and they are soooo good. I have made them using half and half, when I had no heavy cream, and they are not (if you will excuse me) half bad.

Addendum: And, because I can't leave well enough alone, here is another unusual biscuit recipe-also very good-but not so good-for-you, I guess:

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Work bacon grease in with your fingertips-use a light hand and save a little of the grease out. Add milk a little at a time until the dough holds together, but is not wet or sticky. Ms. Lundy squeezes these biscuits out using a technique that I have not mastered. You can, however, pat the dough out into a rectangle 1/2" thick, and cut it with a biscuit cutter or knife. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and smear a tiny dab of the grease on top of each one-just a smear.Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes, or until just browning. Serve hot.

May 07, 2006

I would really prefer not to bake bread at all. I love to bake bread. Perhaps there is a conflict here? This is the thing. Baking really good breads of the kind I prefer for everyday use is difficult, and better done by persons of skill and practice, who have bread ovens to work with. I would happily buy all my bread if I could get the sort of thing I like near my home, without too much trouble. I have already gone on at some length about how much trouble that is.

It is a nonetheless a great pleasure to make breads of special kinds on occasion, and I always enjoy doing that, given enough time. Yeast, flour, salt-handling these elemental ingredients is a time honored therapeutic exercise. The smell of bread baking competes with the smell of roasting meat or poultry for most intoxicating home aroma. What's not to like?

I resist developing the need for home baked bread on a regular basis, because it is a demanding practice, and uses a lot of time which could be spent on other things-including other cooking. And I do have a full time job, which can also interfere with cooking, reading, traveling, and so on. However, I think I may be developing a yen for this loaf that's a little scary.

After greedily consuming (over 2 weeks, but still), my first two round Sicilian-style breads, I just had to make a semolina batard (fatter, shorter baguette) or filone (same, with pointy ends). For one thing, I wanted to see how the flavor would be with less yeast and a longer rise. For another, I thought that this sort of bread would be perfect for bruscetta-except that my round bread slices were inappropriate shapes. Most importantly, however, my last loaf was gone, and, hard though it may be to believe, I really hadn't had my fill of semolina bread when that happened. This is, no doubt, related to the impulse which sometimes causes me to eat the same thing for dinner several days in a row. Or longer.

Hence, too, this change about of the recipe. The only difference in ingredients was the addition of a teaspoon of malt, and reducing the total yeast to 1 tsp. However, I started the bread night before baking, with a little amateur biga. This was nice and bubbly and ripe the next morning, when I combined it with the remaining ingredients. I proceeded as before, except I shaped the dough into a batard, rather than a round, and slit it before baking. (Just in case anyone wants to try this version, I will add the complete recipe-as revised-at this post's end. It occurs to me that reading these directions, unless actually in the mood to make this bread, could be unspeakably boring.)

Despite the decrease in the yeast, the bread rose amazingly fast again, and blew up quite a bit in an hour on both risings. Baked, it turned out to be noticeably bigger than either of the others. Who knew? Though I actually have a rectangular reed banneton, I didn't use it, because I thought it would be too big. This bread is plenty big enough to have filled it, however. Perhaps I will use it next time, as it could be cute with the beehive-y pattern the basket reeds create.

No huge surprise-this bread tastes better than the others. In fact I would say, immodestly, that it is sensationally good. Oh, and the crust is snappy as hell-I really love it, and I'm afraid I'm going to be making it a lot, in the absence of some sort of intervention. Help!

I think I'll see if I can find me some unhulled sesame seeds for next time. I should probably note here that I am inordinately fond of sesame seeds-if you don't care for them, you might not love the bread as much as I do-they are an important part of the flavor.

I have written before of my fondness for bruschetta as a showcase for bread, as well as a delivery system for other goodies. Bruschetta begins with the grilling of bread slices, which are then generally rubbed with a slice of cut garlic. Good bread, of a sturdy nature and flavor is a prerequisite. A drizzle of very nice olive oil is usually applied next. Almost any tasty topping you can imagine is delightful.

This is one kind of bruschetta I made with this loaf:

Rapini and White Bean Spread Bruschetta: This one makes a light meal unto itself. I wouldn't serve it as an appetizer-it is more of a lunch.

Mash room temperature beans with salt, pepper and a dot of the vinegar. Parboil rapini, drain, chop fairly finely, then saute with most of the olive oil, the garlic, and the red pepper flakes. Spread beans on the toasts. Divide rapini among the four toasts. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, and top with a pinch of salt and a grinding of black pepper. You can best eat these with a knife and fork. I am planing on some of Sam's Chicken Liver Spread, to finish off this loaf.

Here endeth this post, except for:

Addendum: Details, Revised Semolina Bread Recipe

Biga

The night before you bake mix:
1/2 cup semolina flour(finest, silkiest that you can find-or "gold durum" flour, if available. If it seems coarse, grind it up a bit in your blender. It should be gold, not white or gray)
1/2 cup King Arthur's
Unbleached All Purpose Flour*
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp instant (not quick rising) dry yeast
Cover and let sit over night.

Put semolina flour and 1 cup of the AP flour in bowl of stand mixer. Add oil and water to biga and pour biga into mixer bowl. Using paddle attachment, combine until just mixed. Cover bowl and let stand 15 minutes. (important-do not omit this break!) Add malt, additional yeast, and salt. With the dough hook, knead about 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic, but slightly sticky. If it is too wet, add more of the flour. It should clean the sides and bottom of the bowl as it whips around.

Place dough in lightly oiled bowl. If it is very sticky to handle, flour your hands. Cover and let rise until doubled. This may not take more than an hour. Shape into desired form- round or long. If you are free form shaping, place the loaf on a sheet of parchment on a bread peel, or on the bottom of a turned-over sheet pan. Handle lightly where possible, to avoid bursting all the lovely air bubbles. Using a pastry brush, paint the top of your bread sparingly with water. Sprinkle generously with the seeds, pressing them in a bit . Cover loosely and let rise about 1 hour more.

Meanwhile preheat your oven very high. If you have an ordinary stove, crank it up as high as it will go.
It is best to have an oven stone or tiles heating up in there. If you don't have either, you will need to bake the bread on your sheet pan.

When the bread is ready to go- slide it (with parchment) onto the baking stone and close the oven door. Get 4 ice cubes, open the oven, and toss them in, so there is a burst of steam-closing the door right away. Turn oven down to 425F, and bake 15 minutes. Open door, and slide parchment out from bread. Turn bread 180 degrees. continue to bake until deeply gold, and sounding hollow when rapped on the bottom. This took me a total of 50 minutes altogether for the batard shape.It will vary with your chosen shape, and of course, your oven.

*If you do not use KA Unbleached all-purpose flour, you should substitute a mix of 50% ordinary all-purpose, and 50% bread flour for it. Shaping instructions are not included, as that is a Whole Big Thing.
Lots of books have pretty good picture-instructions on this. And then you practice. If you haven't the time for that,but would like to make some bread Right Now, I think a free form ball would bake up very nicely.

I'm sure you could make this bread hand kneading it too, but I haven't tried that, so I don't feel up to giving directions. It is a bit of a sticky dough, but not so sticky that hand kneading is out of the question.

April 30, 2006

At a long gone restaurant on the Southside, where I first had a proper risotto, I was once served a wonderful house-baked bread. It was crusty, it was golden, it was studded with sesame seeds. It was a perfect companion to a saucy ragout. Reading The Unplugged Kitchen, I saw the Viana La Place recipe for semolina bread, and it sparked my memory.

Rummaging around my bookshelves and the internet, I found some conflicting opinions. I thought I'd try a plain round loaf first, and maybe then move on to the nifty traditional Sicilian shapes and/or a batard. Unhulled sesame seeds sounded wonderful, but I didn't want to wait until I found some, so I thought I'd start with my supply of sesame seeds ordinaire. I then tackled the flour issue.

After consulting a number of opinions and authorities, there is still a good deal of confusion in my mind about the right flour to use when making a Sicilian-style semolina bread. The two possibilities are durum flour and semolina flour. Both are milled from a special hard, glutinous wheat, seemingly the same kind-possibly different parts of that wheat. Both are used in pasta making.

Generally, semolina is milled more coarsely than durum. This would seem to be because it is more difficult to mill finely. Nonetheless, there is a special, silky, finely milled semolina flour which is used in Sicily to make this bread. It is apparently not available elsewhere. Viana La Place and Carol Field both recommend using a Golden Durum flour, as the best substitute.

I have not found Golden Durum flour either, in town or on the web, under that name, or by that description. The durum flour I saw at the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company in the Strip was not at all golden-it was ivory. Further, the semolina flour did not look all that coarse. Golden was, for me, an important feature. Sooo...guess what I bought? The Mss. La Place and Field had suggested that if nice durum flour was not available, it would be cool to powder the semolina flour with the plain flour in their (nearly identical) recipes. This could be done, they both said, bit by bit in a blender. All are agreed that coarse semolina flour, untweaked, will not make bread.

As I do not have a blender (except for my beloved immersion model, which is unsuitable), and as I my food processor is recently deceased, I actually performed this feat in my fine little coffee grinder. Truth be told, it was neither difficult nor time consuming. I'm still not sure it was necessary, though. The semolina flour looked pretty fine to begin with-though not silky, I admit. I may try a bread without the coffee grinder step, just to see.

When it came time to put my lone round bread in the oven, I could not resist docking it, somewhat in the traditional manner. (The traditional docked shape is, however, a half-moon, rather than a circle-per Ms. Field's drawings (and also, if I recall correctly, some sketches in a Mary Taylor Simiti book.)

Some time after I took the bread out of the oven, I set to work to make a dessert cake, for my friends who were coming to dinner. I hauled out my all purpose flour again, from the giant snap-top plastic bin where all my flour bags live, stacked. The bag on top (and hence, the bag I had just used for this bread) was not, as I had intended, King Arthur Unbleached All-purpose Flour, but rather, their White Whole Wheat Flour. Whoops.

It was okay, though. The bread was delicious, and long lasting too. It was good fresh with shrimp chowder for supper, and I was still toasting it (it's really good toasted)-three days later. The texture is quite close grained and more cake-like than my usually favorite chewy country-style breads, but still toothsome and unmushy. The taste is great, with all sorts of wheaty flavors.The sesame seeds are delish on top-I used lots. Next time I'm going to use less yeast, and let it rise longer- this loaf blew up really fast, which is not usually, IMHO, the best thing for flavor. Further experiments to follow.

Here is the recipe I used this time, adapted from Carol Field and Viana La Place:

Process flours and sea salt together in small batches in food processor or coffee grinder, until fine and maybe also- silky. Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl of stand mixer. Add flour and oil to bowl, and combine with paddle attachment. Cover and let rest 20 minutes. Change to dough hook and knead 5 or 6 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough on lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled- 1 hour at most!

Shape dough into a round, and cover. I did this by placing it in my floured reed banneton, and covering it with a transparent shower cap I keep for this eccentric purpose. Let rise again until doubled, preheating the oven (containing tiles or a baking stone) to 425F. Turn risen bread out onto a bread peel or the back of a cookie sheet which has been covered in baking parchment.

Paint the surface of the loaf lightly with water, using a pastry brush.Sprinkle seeds over surface, and press them in very gently. If you wish to shape the bread as I did, just slice the edge, every few inches, as pictured. Slide the bread (and parchment) onto the stone, and close oven door. Open oven and toss in a few ice cubes, for a bit of steam.

After 10 minutes, open oven, slide parchment out from under the bread, and turn down to 400F. Cook an additional 45 minutes or so, or until it sounds hollow when you rap on the bottom. Cool on rack.

Note: After baking my bread, I was noodling around some more, and found this in a section of The Artisan, which gathered everything I found previously on the topic, and more, in one place. The Artisan is new to me; if it is new to you, too, you might want to check it out.

Addendum: Made a second loaf, identically, except used King Arthur All-purpose Flour, and did not pregrind the semolina flour. An entirely different texture- chewier, with holes, less dense and cornbread like-more like a country french texture, love it- the same delicious taste-nicer texture. This one blew up even faster, though. Next time-less yeast, longer rising. Funny-the loaves were the same size, yet the 2nd loaf was airier. Still substantial though- and it tastes great! I need to find out the brand of flour PA Mac is selling-as they rebag into 5lbs from larger amounts, and don't label brands. Will report further developments.

April 20, 2006

The name of this crispy flatbread brings to (my addled) mind a magician whisking away a scarf to reveal a not entirely unexpected bunny . It is sort of a combination of "whoosh" and "voila!" I'm tempted to cry, "Lavosh!" when setting it out. Fortunately, my friends are pretty tolerant.

Neither magic nor trickery is required to produce this take on the traditional Armenian giant cracker. All you need are a few basic ingredients probably on hand, and the Nick Malgieri recipe from the recent A Baker's Tour. Lavosh is sometimes dampened and rolled around fillings to create the currently popular "wraps." Mr. Malgieri prefers the crispy version, and I like it too.

I thought I would make some to have with my Ispanakhi Pkhali (hereinafter "I.P."-it's hard keeping all those consonants straight). The Lavosh is Armenian in origin and the I.P. is Georgian, but they seem to me to be perfect for one another. According to both Julianne Margvelashvili and Anya von Bremzen, I.P. is one of a number of single vegetable pates or dips, each having its own characteristic seasoning and garnishes, but all conveniently made with the same spiced walnut/garlic base. At a traditional Georgian party, additional pates would have been set out, feauring eggplant, beets, or some other veg.

My I.P. is a combination and adaptation of both of theirs. It should probably not be made entirely in a food processor, though the paste is best done in one. As to the rest, I used the grinder attachment to my kitchenaid, having read that the original was done with a meat grinder. Fine hand chopping of the veg is also an option. but I'd try the food processor anyway, if I was short on time and/or grinderless. You are going for an even texture, but not too, too fine, or a total paste. Pulse the processor, I think, with the spinach, if you use one.

Cook spinach until leaves are just wilted. Drain, cool, and squeeze out as much water as you can. In a food processor or coffee grinder, grind walnuts, garlic and dried coriander to a paste. Run the spinach, cilantro, and onion through a meat grinder, or chop very, very finely. Combine with walnut paste in a bowl with your fingertips, mixing thoroughly and adding salt, vinegar and paprika to taste. cover bowl and leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, then store in fridge. When ready to serve, form into a thick pancake shape on a small plate. Score crosswise, with a knife. Garnish with pomegranite seeds, if you have some. (I didn't, but wouldn't it be pretty?)

Note: It is very important to leave this at room temperature for an hour or two after mixing. This is necessary for the taming of the raw garlic , and the melding of flavors. Keeps several days in fridge.

I am a fan of crispy breads and crackers, and there are a great many store-bought crackers and crisp flatbreads I like, but this lavosh is sooo easy to make, and I think it is superior to most of them. It is not that it is unusual. Rather, it is the plain, perfect freshness of the floury saltiness which is so nice. It makes me think that even pretty fresh store-bought crackers are a bit old. Around here,at least, bakeries do not sell freshly baked crackers. A big plus for cracker lovers, is that the cook gets to munch on warmish bits, while shattering the baked sheets . This is wonderful stuff cooled, but warm-even better.

Stir the flour and salt together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Dissolve the yeast in the water, and whisk in the rest of the ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, an stir in until all is moistened and shaggy. Put the bowl on the mixer, and knead with the dough hook for 2 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then mix 2 more minutes. Put in an oiled bowl. flip the dough to coat the other side with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double-about an hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F, and line 3 cookie pans with parchment or silpats.

Divide risen dough into 3 parts, and roll each out on a floured surface, as thin as you can, to about the size of rthe pans. Transfer to the baking pans, and with scissors, trim off the edges, where it will be thicker. Poke the surfaces all over with a fork, and bake each about 20 minutes until golden and crisp. Cool, and break sheets into largish irregular shards. Keep in a covered container. If they lose crispiness, you can reheat a few minutes to crisp them up.

In addition to being delicious with middle eastern dips and spreads, these make dynamite aberrant nachos. You can scatter bits of cheese -such as my current favorite for this- a crumbly cheddar with mustard seeds, all over a few of these big crackers, then broil, or even nuke them-a good, if weird lunch with fruit for dessert.

I'm thinking about trying to make some other crackery breads in the future- good with salads, or eggs, and stews with lots of juices, too. They pack pretty well for lunches.

February 05, 2006

Bruschetta is, after all, toast, a topic close to my heart. It is pretty common knowledge that many things from the simplest scraping- ripe tomato or garlic rubbed across the toasted bread, smashed chickpeas,etc., to all sort of sophisticated combinations, make lovely bruschetta. I intend to pass along a favorite wonderful, weird synergystic bruschetta recipe (not original to me). You need not, of course, bake your own ciabatta to make this, it will be fine on any good toasted bread. And it is very quick, and easy.

I do have a favorite ciabotta type bread which is excellent freshly baked, and turns into splendid, satisfying bruschetta when the first blush of its youth has passed. Recently , I made these Acme Herb Slabs for a superbowl party/lunch at work. (Yes, here in the 'burgh this was a citywide occasion to celebrate, pregame. In my office, serious homemade food of all sorts appears for every major festive event. This lunch party even had pork with sauerkraut and dumplings. Jealous?) My hope was that there would be a bit of the bread left over to take home and make bruscetta. There was.

The ciabatta-like recipe is from a favorite breadbaking source, the Maggie Glezer book, oft-cited here and appearing in the recipe link above. Ms. Glezer learned it from Steve Sullivan, of Acme Bread in Berkeley (and SF). The original contains rosemary, and is just dandy for most bruscetta pairings. If you want a whole lot of bruscetta, of different sorts, for a crowd, it would be a good idea to flavor some of your bread differently, depending on the topping intended. Toasted walnuts are great in this bread.

Slicing the slabs to make bruschetta, I was struck by how like the biscotti making process it is. You bake a big flat rectangle, slice it, and lay out and cook the slices some more, drying them out. A cross section of the flat bread, especially studded with walnuts, certainly resembles the italian cookie. It now occurs to me that this resemblance may well be of interest to absolutely no one but myself. At the time I first noticed it, however, I found it inexplicably delightful. What can I say? Digression is my middle name, and my brain must be wired for it.

In any event, this bruschetta is another nice find from Slow Mediterranean, a favorite Paula Wolfert book. I know it sounds odd, but it is especially delicious. PW says it is a traditional dish from the Canary Islands, as tweaked by Ferran Adria, the Catalonian chef famous for his really experimental stuff-like foams and what have you. You will definitely need some kind of mandoline or extra sharp slicer, as the avocado must be very thin. I use my el cheapo japanese mandoline to good effect. (n.b. I am driven to apologize for including so many names in this post-all of well known people who I know not at all. I live in fear of accidentally claiming as my own the endeavors of another. This sort of anxiety sometimes comes over otherwise normal individuals who have attended law school-the fear of failing to attribute, that is...the drive to apologize is my own from birth.)

Make a vinagrette with the oil, vinegar parsley, s and p. Slice the sardines and marinate in the vinagrette for at least an hour. Chill the avocado in the fridge while it marinates. Slice the avocado paper thin, removing skin and pit while slicing. Grill or broil the bread. Brush bread with vinagrette, and top ,each with 3-4 slices of the avocado. Drain sardines and put some on top. Scatter with chopped scallion, and eat right away. Did I mention that I love this?

January 28, 2006

I think I have mentioned before that I'm a bit obsessed with small breads at the moment. I'm looking for some that will make good rolls for sandwiches. I like a roll than has a bit more to say for itself than the average store-bought sandwich bun. I want something with substance of its own that is not too weighty with a filling added; it should have a good crust, but not one that shatters all over your lap, desk or the park bench, when you bite into your sandwich. I'd like it to be strong enough to hold up to a juicy hamburger, tasty enough to be good with just a bit of butter, but not so distinctively flavored that it will clash with sandwich fixings.

Just about any bread recipe can be turned into a recipe for rolls, by shaping, but I thought I'd go after some traditional roll recipes, on the theory that other folks may well have had the same criteria for rolls as I, and developed these ideas over time. I hope to benefit from their inherited experience. This one, for pairs of crusty swiss rolls, jumped out at me from the pages of Nick Malgieri's A Baker's Tour, which I was happy to receive for a gift this Christmas.

In a little introduction, in which the spelling of the main attraction varies a bit, he explains that these are large rolls (good, I'm not looking for a delicate mini-bite), which used to be a common sight in little restaurants and train stations in Zurich and eastern Switzerland. Sadly, he finds they have begun to disappear. These rolls are said to be chewy, and good with hearty foods, both traits I favor. Apparently it is traditional to break them up to eat, rather than slice them. Hmmm. I hoped this wasn't going to mean there would be a problem with slicing them. They can be frozen, he says, and revive well.
I adapted the recipe only slightly, and not, I believe, in any material way. Though it has a biga type starter, it can all be easily completed in one day.

These are the ingredients for the Buerli, or"Buurli", which are always baked in groups of 2 or 4.

To make the starter, I mixed the yeast with the water, then added it to the flours, which I had combined in a medium large bowl. I left this to ferment for 3 hours.
Then, I made the dough in the bowl of my stand mixer. I put the water in the bowl, and whisked in the yeast by had. I put the bowl on the mixer, and mixed the flours, sugar and salt on a low speed for a few minutes, added the starter, and mixed again until combined. I stopped the mixer, covered the bowl, and let the dough rest for ten minutes. I mixed the dough again until smooth and elastic, which only took a few minutes. I put the dough in an oiled bowl, turned it over to coat it, and covered the dough with plastic wrap-right on its surface. I left it to rise for 30 minutes.

Here's the unusual part:

I removed the dough to a lightly floured surface (my marble pastry board), flattened it slightly, and folded two sides of the dough towards the center. I repeated this manoever with the opposite sides and put the dough back, covered loosely, for 30 minutes. This process was then repeated, and the dough covered and left to rise another half hour.

After this rise, the dough was cut into 12 equal pieces. These were formed into rough rounds, and set on the two prepared baking sheets in groups of 2. The pairs were set only one inch apart within the pair, but further from the other rolls. The idea being, that after rising and baking, the pairs touch, but do not touch the other pairs. I covered these with a cloth.

I then put the oven racks in a top-third/bottom third configuration, put a roasting pan on the bottom of the oven, and cranked the oven up as high as it would go (must be at least 500F) to preheat. I let the shaped rolls rise for about an hour, until doubled. I put them in, tossed a dozen ice cubes into the roasting pan (to make steam)-and cooked the rolls for 20 minutes. I then rotated and switched the pans, turned the oven down to 400F, and baked them about 15 to 20 minutes longer, until very, very dark.

NM suggests eating the same day, or wrapping tightly and freezing. Defrost without unwrapping, he says, and reheat at 350F for 10 minutes, cooling before serving.
These are excellent, and much to the purpose. Be aware, though, that they are definitely on the hearty side. There is no trace of airiness about these rolls. Chewy crumb with body and multiple holes, and a crisp crust, which is nonetheless entirely sliceable, even with my picnic knife.

Warning, digression: I can't resist babbling on a bit about my conviction that to take advantage of life's opportunities, a person should own and carry a picnic knife. This knife must have a corkscrew and a blade which will cut bread, cheese, fruit or meat. A bottle opener would be nice, but mine doesn't have one, and I love it anyway. It is green, a favorite color, and lives in my bag. If you don't have time to make your sandwich, you can just wrap up your roll, or buy one, and pick up sandwich fixings or some cheese, butter and fruit en route. And if someone offers you any sort of treat, you are pretty much ready to accept.

I find it much more useful, and less of a nuisance than my cellphone. I must just remember to pack it in my suitcase if I am going to be in airports, so that it doesn't get confiscated during boarding. Sadly, this inhibits airbourne picnicing.

Mix the flour and water in the bowl of your mixer, using a wooden spoon. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. This is called the "autolyse", or something of the sort. (unsure on spelling). Many bread mavens, especially french ones, insist that this rest, before the addition of yeast or salt, is important for flavor and texture development. I will not pretend that I understand why this would be true. However, my feeling is, since I am already devoting a ludicrous amount of time to a single (albeit enormous) loaf of bread, how could another 15 minutes hurt?

Add the remaining ingredients, and mix at medium high speed with dough hook for about 15 minutes. Yes, that's right, there's no more yeast, only the wee bit in the pre-ferment. Stay in the vicinity, because unless your mixer is very powerful, it may decide to travel. If so, you must hold it in place to keep it from plunging off your counter. I must do this with my Kitchenaid, which is not the most powerful, largest model. According to Ms. Glezer, this bounciness will probably not destroy your mixer, short-circuit your kitchen, or cause you to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome or tennis elbow. I lie. She makes no promises as to your physical condition. I choose to believe her as to the survival of my equipment, and have not been disappointed so far.

I have included a photo of the dough, after kneading, sheeting off the dough hook, so you will know, when you see it, that it has not fallen victim to a curse. It is supposed to look like this. Now, you must cover the bottom and sides of a Very Big Bowl with a pile of flour. Scrape the dough onto the top of the flour. Flour your hands. Pull the sides of the dough mass up and to the centsr, all around. Now, the top of the dough will look floury, as it is coated with the flour from the bowl. Flip the dough over, so the bottom, also floury, is now on top.
Cover the bowl with saran wrap, and let rise for about 4 hours. For the first hour, repeat the manoever of pulling, stretching and flipping the dough ball-gently,every 20 minutes, trying to stretch the dough over any developing airiness, so as not to compress air bubbles. Yes, there is a lot of unincorporated flour making its way to the inside of the bread. This is intentional.

Once the dough has doubled, you are ready to shape it. Put a sheet of parchment on a dough peel, or upside down cookie sheet. Sprinkle the surface pretty thickly with flour, and turn your dough out on it. Flour your hands. Gently shape the dough into a circle, if it is not already circular. Plunge the index and middle fingers of both hands into the center of the dough, until you get to the bottom. Going round with your fingers, stretch the center opening until the bread resembles a buoy, or giant lifesaver. Cover loosely and let the dough rise for about an hour and a half, whilst you preheat your oven insanely high- to 500F if you can. You will, of course, have a baking stone in place.

When you are ready to bake, with a very sharp knife, make 4 slits in the top of the bread,like a plus mark, as you see in the photo.Slide the bread and parchment onto the stone, close the oven, and reduce heat to 450F. After about 20 minutes, carefully turn the bread round, and slide the parchment out from under it. Discard parchment. Continue to bake until very dark brown, probably 20-30 minutes more. Cool totally on a rack. Do not eat this warm, the crumb will not have finished forming properly until the bread has cooled.

Yes, there is a fair amount of hoop jumping involved, but it works if you do it all, and it is a delicious, bread, chewy and crusty. It is so big and grand (you can get some idea of the size when you compare it to the bricks in the picture) that I can hardly believe I made it.

Addendum: Would you like to see someone else make the same bread? Check out the comments section, and then have a look at Bake My Day, which is mostly in dutch, but partly in english, and has more pictures of the process,also in 2 parts, as well as the finished product! You can follow Baking Soda's link to a website with another baker's version. (It's all in German, but there are pictures there too.)